•Dr. Ọlalekan Fadolapo
Sounding stern and afore-decisive, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has a issued a note of warning to politicians, parties, their supporters, advertisement agencies, media owners and in fact, all arms that need to do media publication of political activities, to halt, without further delay, the exposure of all unapproved political-related advertisements.
ARCON warns that failure to heed this warning will warrant prosecution of such deviant organisations, group and or individuals under the ARCON Act, reports Daily Independent.
Issuing the stern warning was Dr Ọlalekan Fadolapo, the Director-General of ARCON in a press release concerning electioneering activities prepatory to the 2027 general elections.
This becomes exigent as campaigns of diverse dimensions heat up the political atmosphere nationwide.
In the statement, ARCON notes with concern, the rising wave of unapproved political advertisements being rather recklessly circulated by politicians, political parties and their support groups, some of which the Council says have run foul of both religious and ethnic guidelines enshrined in the Nigerian Code of Advertising.
To this end, ARCON has professionally directed all stakeholders including politicians, political parties, advertisement agencies, political campaign organisations, political support groups, and media space owners to ensure that all advertising, advertisement, and marketing communication activities are conducted in full alignment with the Nigerian Advertising Law and other relevant extant laws.
“As political campaign activities and voters’ education have commenced in earnest towards the next general election, politicians, political parties, advertisement agencies, political support groups, and stakeholders are enjoined to exercise caution and ensure that all advertising, advertisement, and marketing communication activities are done in alignment with the Nigerian Advertising Law and other relevant extant laws,” the statement reads.
ARCON’s directive references Section 34(3) of the ARCON Act, which makes it a criminal offence to expose any advertisement whether on traditional or online media platforms without obtaining prior approval from the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP).
The Panel, which functions as ARCON’s vetting and pre-clearance body, is the statutory gateway through which all advertising content must pass before public exposure.
“All political parties, elective political office aspirants, political campaign organisations, advertisement agencies, and media space owners are hereby advised to immediately cease and desist from exposing advertisements without prior approval of the Advertising Standards Panel as required by the ARCON Act,” the release stated.
